Ash wasn't sure whether to laugh or be scared.

Walking behind Professor Oak, he was constantly startled by the sound of electricity crackling through the air.

Am I going to meet a legendary electric type, Ash mused internally as he approached the source of the sound—and his test subject.

Before him stood a short, chubby rodent Pokémon covered in yellow fur, marked by two horizontal brown stripes on its back. It had a small mouth, long pointed ears with black tips, and warm brown eyes.

Each cheek boasted a bright red circle, housing a pouch for storing electricity. Its forearms were short, with five fingers on each paw, and its feet had three toes each.

A patch of brown fur adorned the base of its lightning bolt-shaped tail.

This was a Pikachu, but not just any Pikachu.

It was the Pikachu—the iconic partner of Ash Ketchum from the anime.

This was the Pokémon that had impressively taken out legendary creatures like Latias but was infamously defeated by a Snivy.

How did he know this was Ash's Pikachu?

It was chubby and looked somewhat aggressive.

It was residing in Oak's ranch, and most tellingly, it was glaring at the Pokéballs in his hand.

All signs pointed to one conclusion: yep, that was Ash's Pikachu.

Ash abruptly stopped as he felt Oak's hand stopping him from going further.

"Professor," Ash asked nervously, "what's going on here?"

"Don't cross the zones," Oak replied with a serious tone. Ash's gaze shifted to notice three rings encircling Pikachu. They looked like fresh mud rings with thin rod-like objects pushed into the ground. From where he stood, these were nearly invisible.

"Professor, what is all of this?" Ash inquired, curiosity mixed with caution.

"Safety zones, my boy," Oak answered just as Pikachu released a burst of electricity. Ash's heart skipped a beat as the electrical discharge surged towards the thin rods, which acted like lightning rods.

"Safety, my boy. A wild electric type is quite dangerous around people. That discharge of electricity could electrocute you, hence the safety zones," Oak explained. "The first zone is Pikachu's spark-gap distance."

Ash looked confused, so Oak continued. "Spark gap distance is the maximum distance an electrical discharge can travel through air before the air becomes ionized and electrically conductive. Once air is ionized, electricity can flow through it, creating a spark or arc."

Understanding dawned on Ash's face as he nodded.

"The second zone," Oak went on, "is where the electricity might travel indirectly, such as through the ground or by jumping to nearby conductive objects—like a human body."

"And the third zone?" Ash asked, swallowing nervously.

"An extra layer of safety. There's no such thing as being too cautious around an electric type," Professor Oak concluded with a firm nod.

Ash gulped nervously and then asked, "Do I really need to test out these hypotheses with such a dangerous Pokémon?"

"Don't worry, all the safety procedures are in place, and if something happens, I am here," Professor Oak reassured him, which calmed Ash slightly as he opened Abra's Pokéball.

With a flash of red light, Abra appeared beside him, immediately settling into a slumber.

Pikachu eyed them cautiously.

"Abra, wake up!" Ash whispered, gently rocking the psychic Pokémon back and forth.

"I am awake, I am awake, you damn slave laborer," Abra complained telepathically, clearly annoyed at being disturbed.

"Sorry for waking you up," Ash apologized.

"Whatever," Abra grumbled, then turned its attention to Pikachu.

"What's with the obese rat?"

Ash felt a bead of sweat trickle down his forehead but sighed in relief since the telepathic communication was only between them.

"What now?" Ash asked Professor Oak, eager to move forward.

"Try to establish communication with Pikachu," Professor Oak instructed.

"You heard the man," Ash said to Abra.

Abra turned to Pikachu and telepathically greeted, "Hello there, obese rat!"

Ash watched as Pikachu's expression instantly changed; its whiskers and ears stood erect, and electricity crackled from its cheeks in annoyance.

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut," Ash muttered, his teeth clenched in frustration.

"My mouth was shut throughout everything," Abra retorted smugly.

Ash sighed, resigned to smoothing things over.

"Let's just give a proper introduction. Just translate what I say to Pikachu, okay?"

"Got it," Abra responded, ready to assist—this time hopefully without any insults.

"Hello there, Pikachu, my name is Ash," Ash said, directing Abra to telepathically translate his greeting.

Pikachu looked up, visibly confused.

"Pika?" it responded.

"What did he say?" Ash asked Abra.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Did that human name you Ash?" Abra replied, relaying Pikachu's words.

Ash facepalmed.

"Don't tell me you translated it word for word," he asked, exasperated.

Abra gave him a smug look.

"I should have chosen someone else as a partner," Ash muttered.

"Well, you chose the talking chick magnet," Abra retorted.

"Can you take this a little more seriously?" Ash pleaded.

"You are getting me a book after this," Abra bargained.

"Why a book?" Ash inquired.

"I am trying to find the secrets of humanity and making a plan to take over the world. Or learn how to use the coffee machine; depends on how much I want to load," Abra replied, causing Ash to sweat drop.

"What do you mean load?"

"Well, my trainer, a psychic like me has a highly developed temporal lobe which creates a lot of waste products inside my mind every time I use my psychic powers. To eliminate these waste products I need to go to sleep for long periods of time but once I am awake, my temporal lobe is inside a phase that I call 'Loading phase,' it's just a fancy term for synaptic plasticity," Abra explained.

"What?" Ash asked, confused.

"Synaptic plasticity is where neurons adjust their connections and strength based on new inputs," Abra clarified.

"So you need something like a book for that new input," Ash concluded.

"Exactly, even an idiot like you can understand it," Abra said sharply.

"Fine, I'll buy the book, just take this seriously, you pain in my ass," Ash said, frustration evident in his voice.

"I heard you," Abra replied smugly.

"It was meant to be heard," Ash said nervously.

"No it wasn't, you thought that the telepathic connection was over," Abra taunted.

"Work now, talk later," Ash replied firmly.

Abra then telepathically conveyed their introduction to Pikachu.

"Pika-Chu-Chu," Pikachu responded.

Abra turned to Ash and translated, "Let me go."

"Professor Oak, Pikachu wants freedom."

Pikachu was surprised that the psychic Pokémon could communicate with the humans. More importantly, it was taken aback that the human was truthful and not attempting to bargain. If roles were reversed, Pikachu would have certainly tried to negotiate.

"That isn't possible at the moment," Professor Oak said, as everyone could practically hear Pikachu's electric anger, the ionized air tingling their senses.

"Why is that?" Ash asked, concern etching his features.

"Well, my boy, Pikachu here is a forced evolution," Professor Oak explained. At this revelation, Pikachu's display of anger paused, turning into confusion.

"What does that mean?" Ash inquired, trying to understand.

"Well, evolution is categorized as normal evolution and forced evolution. Normal evolution occurs when certain conditions are right for the Pokémon to evolve; they evolve naturally. Forced evolution, on the other hand, is when a Pokémon is artificially forced into an evolution. The difference is that the Pokémon is generally not ready for evolution but due to the conditions being met, it evolves. Pikachu here was forcefully evolved from a Pichu when he bit the DC wire of my solar grid, and now Pikachu here suffers from electrical leakages," Oak elaborated.

"Pika, Pika," everyone heard, and they all turned to Abra.

"Why should I trust you?" Pikachu finally asked, voicing its skepticism through Abra's telepathic translation.

Ash's lips pursed as he contemplated how to gain Pikachu's trust.

Suddenly, Abra interjected drily, "I say; Let it die, let it die, let it shrivel up and... come on, who's with me, huh? One less obese rat to take up space."

Pikachu let out a high-pitched squeak, visibly shaken by Abra's harsh words.

Realizing Abra's strategy was to provoke a reaction, Ash quickly intervened.

"Look, I know it's hard to trust people you don't know, but we want to help you. It's just a few tests here and there, and once you get better, you'll be free to go. Isn't that right, Professor?"

Professor Oak nodded in agreement, and Pikachu looked unsure as Abra telepathically translated Ash's reassurance.

"Why the need to repeat it?" Ash asked Abra, seeking clarity on the approach.

"Clearer answer," Abra explained. "Pokémon have a vague idea of what a human is saying, but that doesn't mean the clear message always comes across."

"Pika-Pika-Pika," Pikachu responded after a moment.

"Fine, I'll give you a chance. Don't make me regret this," Abra translated Pikachu's cautious acceptance.

Ash relayed this to Professor Oak, who quickly ran off and returned with a bowl of a liquid solution that smelled awful. "Professor, I don't think he likes it," Ash remarked, pinching his nose as he observed Pikachu's reaction.

"Pika, Pi," Pikachu commented dejectedly, his ears flopping down as he spat out the soup.

Professor Oak pondered a solution while Ash inquired, "Professor, can you change the taste of the soup by adding something?"

"Depends on the added product. Do you have something in mind?" the Professor replied.

"Do you have some ketchup?"

----------------------------------------

[ An Hour Later ]

Professor Oak placed a plate of mango berry sandwiches on the table with a nod of approval.

"Good work," he said.

"If only Abra's personality was a little better," Ash mumbled under his breath.

"Is his personality bad?" Oak asked, taking a bite of a sandwich.

"I wouldn't say bad. I would rather equate it to more jerk-like, but in an endearing way. You can tell that Abra is kind, but in his own jerk-like way," Ash explained, pausing to look at his own sandwich.

"I'll tell the breeders to change their personality imprinting programs," Oak remarked casually.

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, curious.

"Do you know what a personality type is?" Oak queried, as Ash was reminded of a weird part of the Pokémon games where a personality could give stat boosts.

"I have some idea that it affects the Pokémon in some way," Ash replied.

"Well, that's not the full picture," Oak began.

"A personality type refers to what a baby Pokémon has imprinted from its parents. For example, if the parents are brave, a baby Pokémon would likely behave braver. About 60 years ago, a scientist from the Orre region discovered that this initial imprinting can cause different effects on a Pokémon's power. He created the imprinting programs where a Pokémon baby is put under a scenario where it sees a certain behavior, hence creating their personality type which can cause the Pokémon baby to have a different effect; for example, brave personality types have greater attack power while having less speed. Even if that brave personality is replaced as the Pokémon gets older, the effects that formed at birth last over a lifetime."

"Hmm. Do you know what Abra's personality type is?" Ash curiously asked.

Oak nodded and went to retrieve some documents.

"Abra's personality was categorized as Quirky."

Ash snorted.

"That's one way to put it. What does it do?" he asked as he finished his sandwich.

"It increases Abra's power during special moves and decreases his ability to defend against special moves," Oak replied.

"Good to know. Does the file have how they imparted Abra's quirky personality?"

"Actually, yes. Abra was subject to a lot of films and documentaries about sailors when he was born to get Abra to gain a filial imprint that matches the quirky behavior of the films."

Ash looked at Oak and asked, "These are world-class breeders?"

"Yes," Oak replied.

"I think their license needs to be revoked if they think a quirky personality is inside sailor documentaries," Ash remarked, both amused and bewildered by the strange methods used.

"A little harsh, don't you think?" Professor Oak asked, his eyebrows raised slightly.

Ash simply shrugged.

"Is this personality type affected by mental maturity?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Of course," Oak replied.

"A Pokémon baby in infancy can just imprint some aspects of the personality, like body language. As the Pokémon grows into early childhood, the personality becomes more pronounced until adolescence, after which it has the capabilities to make said personality more nuanced."

Ash looked confused, his brow furrowed in thought. "Is there something wrong?" Oak inquired, noticing Ash's expression.

"No, I'm just a little confused by the age terms you used," Ash admitted.

"What do you mean?" Oak asked, puzzled.

"Infancy, early childhood, and adolescence—are they linked with evolution? Because Abra is in its first stage, and I feel like I am talking to someone my age," Ash explained.

"Oh, now I get it. You see, evolution involves physical maturity, but mental maturity is different. Unlike humans, where the average person matures mentally and physically at the same rate, Pokémon mentally mature faster. Their infancy is about two days, their childhood is two months, and adolescence is about two years. Let's see, Abra is in his late adolescence age, so mentally speaking, he is around your age."

"Oh!" Ash thought to himself, a sudden realization lighting up his mind as he continued to eat. He reflected on how much he still had to learn, feeling a pang of embarrassment at his own ignorance.

"I need to have at least a general grasp of knowledge that everyone should know. Even if Professor Oak doesn't discourage questions, I feel stupid asking something without knowing if it's common knowledge or not," he mused, resolving to educate himself better.

"Professor, do you know of any good bookstores?"